Environmental Engineering (BS)
Environmental Engineering Degree
The Environmental Engineering curriculum is designed for students interested in environmental protection and sustainability. The curriculum provides students with a foundation in the science and mathematics required to observe, understand, model, and analyze environmental systems, as well as engineering skills to design critical components of society鈥檚 infrastructure. Upon graduation, students are prepared to work in such areas as water treatment, water resources management, air pollution control, solid waste management, and sustainable energy systems. The curriculum emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of environmental engineering with courses in engineering, earth, and life sciences, including specialized courses on energy and climate, pollution control, waste management, and water and sanitation in developing countries.
Educational Objectives in Environmental Engineering
Within a few years of graduation alumni of the Environmental Engineering program will:
- Function successfully in a professional environment by utilizing and enhancing their technical, critical thinking, communication, and leadership skills.
- Continue learning through graduate or other professional education and obtaining licensure where appropriate.
- Function in team-oriented, multidisciplinary open-ended engineering activities considering the societal, economic, public health, and environmental impacts of engineering decisions, and the professional and ethical responsibilities of environmental engineers.
- Provide mentoring to those under their supervision, and provide leadership in their employment organizations, industry associations, and professional societies.
Plan Requirements
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Hours | |
| 颁贬听101 | Chemistry - A Molecular Science 1 | 3 |
| 颁贬听102 | General Chemistry Laboratory 1 | 1 |
| 贰听101 | Introduction to Engineering & Problem Solving 2 | 1 |
| 贰听115 | Introduction to Computing Environments | 1 |
| 贰狈骋听101 | Academic Writing and Research 2 | 4 |
| 惭础听141 | Calculus I 1 | 4 |
| GEP Health and Exercise Studies | 1 | |
| 听 | Hours | 15 |
| Spring Semester | ||
| MA听241 | Calculus II 1 | 4 |
| PY听205 &听PY听206 | Physics for Engineers and Scientists I and Physics for Engineers and Scientists I Laboratory 1 | 4 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Introduction to Agricultural & Resource Economics | ||
| Introduction to Agricultural & Resource Economics | ||
| Principles of Microeconomics | ||
| Fundamentals of Economics | ||
| E听102 | Engineering in the 21st Century | 2 |
| GEP Requirement | 3 | |
| 听 | Hours | 16 |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| CE听214 | Engineering Mechanics-Statics 2 | 3 |
| CE听250 | Introduction to Sustainable Infrastructure | 3 |
| CH听201 | Chemistry - A Quantitative Science | 3 |
| CSC听111 | Introduction to Computing: Python | 3 |
| MA听242 | Calculus III | 4 |
| GEP Health and Exercise Studies | 1 | |
| 听 | Hours | 17 |
| Spring Semester | ||
| BIO听183 | Introductory Biology: Cellular and Molecular Biology | 4 |
| CE听373 | Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering 2 | 3 |
| CHE听205 | Chemical Process Principles | 4 |
| MA听341 | Applied Differential Equations I | 3 |
| CE听282 | Hydraulics | 3 |
| 听 | Hours | 17 |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| CE听378 | Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology | 4 |
| PY听208 | Physics for Engineers and Scientists II | 3 |
| PY听209 | Physics for Engineers and Scientists II Laboratory | 1 |
| ST听370 | Probability and Statistics for Engineers 3 | 3 |
| Earth Science Elective | 3 | |
| Environment and Society Elective | 3 | |
| 听 | Hours | 17 |
| Spring Semester | ||
| CE听381 | Hydraulics Systems Measurements Lab | 1 |
| CE听383 | Hydrology and Urban Water Systems | 3 |
| CE听339 | Civil Engineering Systems | 3 |
| COM听110 | Public Speaking | 3 |
| TDE听220 or GIS听280 | Civil Engineering Graphics or Introduction to GIS | 3 |
| ENE Technical Breadth Elective | 3 | |
| 听 | Hours | 16 |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| CE听484 | Water Supply and Waste Water Systems | 3 |
| CE听488 | Water Resources Engineering | 3 |
| Air Elective | 3 | |
| ENE Senior Elective | 3 | |
| GEP Requirement | 3 | |
| 听 | Hours | 15 |
| Spring Semester | ||
| CE听481 | Environmental Engineering Project | 3 |
| ENE Senior Elective | 3 | |
| ENE Senior Elective | 3 | |
| ENE Technical Breadth Elective | 3 | |
| GEP Requirement | 3 | |
| 听 | Hours | 15 |
| 听 | Total Hours | 128 |
- 1
A grade of C or higher is required.
- 2
A grade of C- or higher is required.
- 3
Students pursuing a minor in Statistics can use ST 371, but should consult with undergraduate office
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| GEP Courses | ||
| GEP Humanities | 3 | |
| GEP Health and Exercise Studies | 2 | |
| GEP Interdisciplinary Perspectives | 3 | |
| GEP Elective | 3 | |
| GEP Global Knowledge (verify requirement) | ||
| GEP Foundations of American Democracy (verify requirement) | ||
| World Language Proficiency (verify requirement) | ||
| Total Hours | 11 | |
ENE Senior Elective
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CE听435 | Engineering Geology | 3 |
| CE 475/575 | Renewable Energy and the Grid | 3 |
| CE 478/578 | Energy and Climate | 3 |
| CE听487 | Introduction to Coastal and Ocean Engineering | 3 |
| CE 489/589 | Global Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene | 3 |
| CE听580 | Coastal Modeling | 3 |
| CE听581 | Fluid Mechanics in Natural Environments | 3 |
| CE听582 | Coastal Hydrodynamics | 3 |
| CE听583 | Engineering Aspects Of Coastal Processes | 3 |
| CE听585 | Principles of Surface Water Quality Modeling | 3 |
| Air Elective not previously used | 3 | |
Air Elective
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CE 476/576 | Air Pollution Control | 3 |
| CE 479/579 | Air Quality | 3 |
ENE Technical Breadth Elective
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CE听499 | Undergraduate Research Thesis in Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering | 1-3 |
| ENE Senior Elective not previously used | 3 | |
| CE Breadth Elective | 3 | |
| ENE Breadth Elective | 3 | |
CE Breadth Elective
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CE听225 | Mechanics of Solids | 3 |
| CE听301 | Civil Engineering Surveying and Geomatics | 3 |
| CE听305 | Introduction to Transportation Systems | 3 |
| CE听325 | Structural Analysis I | 3 |
| CE听327 | Reinforced Concrete Design | 3 |
| CE听342 | Engineering Behavior of Soils and Foundations | 4 |
| CE听426 | Structural Steel Design | 3 |
| CE 437/537 | Civil Engineering Computing | 3 |
| CE 477/577 | Principles of Solid Waste Engineering | 3 |
| CE听497 | Current Topics in Civil Engineering | 1-4 |
| CE听557 | Engineering Measurement and Data Analysis | 3 |
| CE听536 | Introduction to Numerical Methods for Civil Engineers | 3 |
| CE听590 | Special Topics In Civil Engineering | 1-6 |
| CE听591 | Special Topics in Civil Engineering Computing | 1-6 |
| CE听592 | Special Topics in Construction Engineering | 1-6 |
| CE听593 | Special Topics in Geotechnical Engineering | 1-3 |
| CE听594 | Special Topics in Structures and Mechanics | 1-6 |
| CE听595 | Special Topics in Transportation Engineering | 1-6 |
| CE听596 | Special Topics in Water Resource and Environmental Engineering | 1-6 |
ENE Breadth Elective
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARC听521 | Daylighting and Passive Energy Systems for Architecture | 3 |
| ARC听522 | Building Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy | 3 |
| ARC听523 | Building Energy Modeling and Simulation | 3 |
| ARE听336 | Introduction to Resource and Environmental Economics | 3 |
| BAE听376 | Watershed Assessment and Water Quality Protection | 3 |
| BAE 455/555 | R Coding for Data Management and Analysis | 3 |
| BAE 472/572 | Irrigation and Drainage | 3 |
| BAE 473/573 | Introduction to Hydrologic and Water Quality Modeling | 3 |
| BAE听474 | Principles and Applications of Ecological Engineering | 3 |
| BAE听583 | Stream Corridor 3 Es: Ecohydraulics, Engineering and Ethics | 3 |
| CH听220 | Introductory Organic Chemistry | 3 |
| or听CH听221 | Organic Chemistry I | |
| CH听222 | Organic Chemistry I Lab | 1 |
| DSA听201 | Introduction to R/Python for Data Science | 1 |
| DSA听202 | Introduction to Data Visualization | 1 |
| DSA听205 | Data Communication | 1 |
| DSA听225 | Data Science for Social Good | 1 |
| DSA听406 | Exploratory Data Analysis for Big Data | 1 |
| DSA听412 | Exploring Machine Learning | 1 |
| ECE听331 | Principles of Electrical Engineering | 3 |
| ENG听331 | Communication for Engineering and Technology | 3 |
| or听ENG听333 | Communication for Science and Research | |
| FOR听353 | GIS and Remote Sensing for Environmental Analysis and Assessment | 3 |
| GIS听510 | Fundamentals of Geospatial Information Science and Technology | 3 |
| GIS听512 | Introduction to Environmental Remote Sensing | 3 |
| GIS听521 | Surface Water Hydrology with GIS | 3 |
| MA听305 | Introductory Linear Algebra and Matrices | 3 |
| or听MA听405 | Introduction to Linear Algebra | |
| MA听427 | Introduction to Numerical Analysis I | 3 |
| MAE听201 | Thermal-Fluid Sciences | 3 |
| MEA听411 | Marine Sediment Transport | 3 |
| MEA听425 | Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry | 3 |
| MEA听485 | Introduction to Hydrogeology | 3 |
| ST听372 | Introduction to Statistical Inference and Regression | 3 |
| ST听421 | Introduction to Mathematical Statistics I | 3 |
| TOX听415 | Ecotoxicology | 4 |
听Environment and Society Elective
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARE听309 | Environmental Law & Economic Policy | 3 |
| NR听460 | Renewable Natural Resource Management and Policy | 3 |
| PS听320 | U.S. Environmental Law and Politics | 3 |
| PS听336 | Global Environmental Politics | 3 |
听Earth Science Elective
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MEA听323 | Geochemistry of Natural Waters | 3 |
| SSC听442 | Soil and Environmental Biogeochemistry | 3 |
Semester Sequence
This is a sample.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Hours | |
| 颁贬听101 | Chemistry - A Molecular Science 1 | 3 |
| 颁贬听102 | General Chemistry Laboratory 1 | 1 |
| 贰听101 | Introduction to Engineering & Problem Solving 1,2 | 1 |
| 贰听115 | Introduction to Computing Environments 1,2 | 1 |
| 贰狈骋听101 | Academic Writing and Research 1,2 | 4 |
| 惭础听141 | Calculus I 1,2 | 4 |
| GEP Health and Exercise Studies | 1 | |
| 听 | Hours | 15 |
| Spring Semester | ||
| EC听205 | Fundamentals of Economics | 3 |
| MA听241 | Calculus II 1 | 4 |
| PY听205 | Physics for Engineers and Scientists I 1 | 3 |
| PY听206 | Physics for Engineers and Scientists I Laboratory 1 | 1 |
| E听102 | Engineering in the 21st Century | 2 |
| GEP Requirement | 3 | |
| 听 | Hours | 16 |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| CE听214 | Engineering Mechanics-Statics | 3 |
| CE听250 | Introduction to Sustainable Infrastructure | 3 |
| CH听201 | Chemistry - A Quantitative Science | 3 |
| MA听242 | Calculus III | 4 |
| CSC听111 | Introduction to Computing: Python | 3 |
| GEP Health and Exercise Studies | 1 | |
| 听 | Hours | 17 |
| Spring Semester | ||
| BIO听183 | Introductory Biology: Cellular and Molecular Biology | 4 |
| CE听282 | Hydraulics | 3 |
| CE听373 | Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering | 3 |
| CHE听205 | Chemical Process Principles | 4 |
| MA听341 | Applied Differential Equations I | 3 |
| 听 | Hours | 17 |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| CE听378 | Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology | 4 |
| PY听208 | Physics for Engineers and Scientists II | 3 |
| PY听209 | Physics for Engineers and Scientists II Laboratory | 1 |
| ST听370 | Probability and Statistics for Engineers 3 | 3 |
| Earth Science Elective | 3 | |
| Environment and Society Elective | 3 | |
| 听 | Hours | 17 |
| Spring Semester | ||
| CE听381 | Hydraulics Systems Measurements Lab | 1 |
| CE听383 | Hydrology and Urban Water Systems | 3 |
| CE听339 | Civil Engineering Systems | 3 |
| COM听110 | Public Speaking | 3 |
| TDE听220 or GIS听280 | Civil Engineering Graphics or Introduction to GIS | 3 |
| ENE Technical Breadth Elective I | 3 | |
| 听 | Hours | 16 |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| CE听484 | Water Supply and Waste Water Systems | 3 |
| CE听488 | Water Resources Engineering | 3 |
| ENE Senior Elective I | 3 | |
| Air Elective | 3 | |
| GEP Requirement | 3 | |
| 听 | Hours | 15 |
| Spring Semester | ||
| CE听481 | Environmental Engineering Project | 3 |
| ENE Senior Elective II | 3 | |
| ENE Senior Elective III | 3 | |
| ENE Technical Breadth Elective II | 3 | |
| GEP Requirement | 3 | |
| 听 | Hours | 15 |
| 听 | Total Hours | 128 |
- 1
A grade of C or higher is required.
- 2
A grade of C- or higher is required.
- 3
Students pursuing a minor in Statistics can use ST 371, but should consult with undergraduate office
Career Opportunities
Society will always need constructed facilities to live, work, and sustain their lives and environment, and civil, construction, and environmental engineers will always be needed to plan, design, and construct these facilities. Civil, construction, and environmental engineering comprise such diversified fields that graduates have a wide choice in types and locations of employment. Jobs range from federal, state, or municipal agencies to a variety of manufacturing and processing industries, consulting firms or construction companies. The work may be performed partially or wholly in an office or in the field and may be located in a small community, a big city, an industrial center, or even in a foreign country. Careers in either professional practice or teaching and research are common for many graduates who complete advanced degrees.
Career Titles
- Environmental Engineer
- Air Quality Engineer
- Coastal Engineer
- Energy Engineer
- Environmental Engineer
- Industrial Safety and Health Engineer
- Municipal Engineer
- Product Safety Engineer
- Process Enginer
- Project Manager
- Solar Energy Systems Designer
- Water/Wastewater Engineer
- Engineering Professor
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